Antagonizing Effects of Chromium Against Iron-Decreased Glucose Uptake by Regulating ROS-Mediated PI3K/Akt/GLUT4 Signaling Pathway in C2C12.

To investigate the effect of chromium and iron on glucose metabolism via the PI3K/Akt/GLUT4 signaling pathway. Skeletal muscle gene microarray data in T2DM (GSE7014) was selected using Gene Expression Omnibus database. Element-gene interaction datasets of chromium and iron were extracted from comparative toxicogenomics database (CTD). Gene ontology (GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed using DAVID online tool. Cell viability, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, and protein expression level were measured in C2C12 cells. The bioinformatics research indicated that PI3K/Akt signaling pathway participated in the effects of chromium and iron associated with T2DM. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake level was significantly higher in chromium picolinate (Cr group) and lower in ammonium iron citrate (FA group) than that for the control group (P < 0.05); chromium picolinate + ammonium iron citrate (Cr + FA group) glucose uptake level was higher than that for the FA group (P < 0.05). Intracellular ROS level was significantly higher in the FAC group than that for the control group (P < 0.05), and that for the Cr + FA group was lower than that for the FA group (P < 0.05). p-PI3K/PI3K, p-Akt/Akt, and GLUT4 levels were significantly lower in the FA group than that for the control group (P < 0.05), and the Cr + FA group had higher levels than the FA group (P < 0.05). Chromium might have a protective effect on iron-induced glucose metabolism abnormalities through the ROS-mediated PI3K/Akt/GLUT4 signaling pathway.

The predictive accuracy of coronary heart disease risk prediction models in rural Northwestern China.

Cardiovascular risk models developed may have limitations when applied to rural Chinese. This study validated and compared the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) and Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (PAR) models in predicting 10-year risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a rural cohort in Ningxia, China from 2008 to 2019. The FRS and PAR models were validated by estimating predicted events, C index, calibration χ2 and plots. 1381 adults without CHD at baseline were followed up for 9.75 years on average. 168 CHD cases were observed. The FRS and PAR underestimated CHD events by 22 % and 46 % for the total population, while overestimated for males by 152 % and 78 %, respectively. The C index was slightly higher for PAR than FRS. Both models showed weak calibration with chi-square values above 20 (p < 0.001). Bland-Altman plots indicated FRS predicted higher CHD risk than PAR, lacking consistency. Overall, FRS and PAR demonstrated limited performance in predicting 10-year CHD risk in this rural population. PAR had slightly better discrimination than FRS, but require further improvement in calibration and individual risk estimation to suit the rural population in Northwest China.

Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases Among Different Metabolic Obesity Phenotypes: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objectives: Various diseases are associated with obesity and metabolism. We sought to investigate the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in diverse metabolic obesity phenotypes. Methods and Results: A prospective observational study of 1517 participants ≥25 years of age without CVD at baseline was conducted. Participants were categorized into four groups based on the condition of central obesity and metabolic health status: metabolically healthy normal weight, metabolically healthy obesity (MHO), metabolically unhealthy normal weight, and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO). A multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between different obesity phenotypes and CVD. During 14830.49 person-years of follow-up, there were 244 incident cases of CVD. Of the 1517 participants, 72 (4.75%) and 812 (53.53%) were classified as having MHO and MUO, respectively. MHO and MUO had a tendency toward a higher risk of CVD [adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) = 1.49, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11-2.02 and HR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.00-1.55, respectively] based on the waist circumference criterion. Conclusion: MHO and MUO can increase the risk of CVD.

The relationship between co-exposure to multiple heavy metals and liver damage.

BACKGROUND: The impact of heavy metal exposure on human health has attracted widespread attention of researchers, and the impact of heavy metal exposure on liver function has also been confirmed, however, more attention is paid to the impact of single or two heavy metal exposures, and most epidemiological studies focus on heavy metal pollution areas. In this study, rural residents in non-heavy metal-contaminated areas in Northwest China were selected as the research objects to explore the comprehensive effects of co-exposure to multiple heavy metals on the liver, which can provide certain reference and support for related research. OBJECTIVES: This study used a Bayesian nuclear machine model (BKMR) to evaluate the relationship between exposure to heavy metal mixtures and indicators of liver function in a population in rural Northwest China. RESULTS: Exposure to higher concentrations of metal mixtures was positively correlated with total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, and aspartate aminotransferase, and negatively correlated with alanine aminotransferase, with Pb contributing the most to indicators of liver function. We also observed a possible interaction of Cd with other heavy metals in the effect of heavy metal mixtures on DB levels. CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent exposure to higher concentrations of heavy metal mixtures (Cr, Co, Cd, and Pb) in rural China was associated with indicators representing poor liver function, of which the effect of lead on liver function should be focused. More prospective epidemiological studies and animal experiments need to be carried out to determine this relationship and possible mechanism.

Association of Serum Vitamin D and Estradiol Levels with Metabolic Syndrome in Rural Women of Northwest China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the association of serum vitamin D and estradiol levels with metabolic syndrome (MS) in rural women of northwest China. Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study. MS was defined according to the updated China Diabetes Society (CDS) criteria. Fasting serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and estradiol levels were measured using a chemiluminescence immunoassay. Differences between variables were analyzed using the chi-square test and t-test. Logistic regression analysis models were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals. Results: In total, 1893 women participated, of whom 641 (33.9%) had MS. The serum levels of 25(OH)D and estradiol were higher in the non-MS group. There was no significant association between 25(OH)D and estradiol levels. After adjusting for potential confounders, we compared first, second, and third quartiles with the highest quartile. Adjusted ORs for MS with respect to 25(OH)D level quartiles were 1.555, 1.281, and 1.568, respectively. Adjusted ORs for MS with respect to estradiol level quartiles were 0.671, 0.785, and 0.996, respectively. In the vitamin D-deficient (VD-deficient) group, adjusted ORs for MS with respect to estradiol level quartiles were 0.635, 0.753, and 0.918, respectively. Conclusions: There is a negative correlation between MS and vitamin D level and a positive correlation between MS and estradiol level. Low estradiol concentrations increased the risk of MS in the VD-deficient group. The results suggest a potential synergism between low 25(OH)D concentration and estradiol in MS in women.

Multiscale materials from microcontinuous-flow synthesis: ZnO and Au nanoparticle-filled uniform and homogeneous polymer microbeads.

Tri(propylene glycol) diacrylate (TPGDA) was found to be an excellent monomer for the stabilization and dispersion of inorganic nanoparticles. Uniform nano-Au/poly(TPGDA) and nano-ZnO/poly(TPGDA) composite microbeads were synthesized in situ using a designed axisymmetric capillary-based flow-focusing microfluidic device without any additional surfactant or coupling agent. Using the designed mixing-enhanced microfluidic device, homogeneous nano-inorganic/polymer composites with a high content of nanoparticles were obtained. Morphologies of the composites were characterized by SEM, TEM, surface microscopy, dark-field microscopy and internal fluorescence.

Co-axial capillaries microfluidic device for synthesizing size- and morphology-controlled polymer core-polymer shell particles.

An easy assembling-disassembling co-axial capillaries microfluidic device was built up for the production of double droplets. Uniform polymer core-polymer shell particles were synthesized by polymerizing the two immiscible monomer phases composing the double droplet. Thus poly(acrylamide) core-poly(tri(propylene glycol) diacrylate) shell particles with controlled core diameter and shell thickness were simply obtained by adjusting operating parameters. An empirical law was extracted from experiments to predict core and shell sizes. Additionally uniform and predictable non-spherical polymer objects were also prepared without adding shape-formation procedures in the experimental device. An empirical equation for describing the lengths of rod-like polymer particles is also presented.